Halloween
by Anette Chase
Summary: AU Ceremonial Duel. Spoilers, I guess you could say. Implied Shonenai and het. What if just one thing had gone differently in the Ceremonial Duel? This is how everyone deals with what happens. Edited 102407


Okay, this is obviously a Yu-Gi-Oh! one-shot. This is set slightly AU from the end of the series. This is a song-fic to the song Halloween from the musical RENT, though for the purposes of posting on the song has been removed. You can see it with the song here: htt p://ww w.mediam iner.o rg/fanf ic/vi ewc h.ph p?ci d44 4287&su bmit Vi ew+ Chap ter& id 1293 59 Just remove the spaces. Anyone who has seen RENT, at least the special edition DVD, will kinda know what's happening. Don't worry, if you don't know, it'll be self-explanatory.

I don't know when the Ceremonial Duel takes place, so I'm taking liberties with that as well as what's going on here. For the purpose of this fic, it takes place about a week before Halloween.

Edited a bit for formatting 10-24-07

Pairings: (More hinted at than actually there, but still…) Yami(Atem)/Yugi, Jonouchi/Mai, Seto/Ryou, Mokuba/Rebecca, Honda/Anzu, Otogi/Shizuka.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Halloween. Yu-Gi-Oh! belongs to Kazuki Takahashi (sp? .) and Halloween is from the musical RENT written by Jonathon Larson.

* * *

Listen well, my fine ladies and gentlemen, as I tell you a tale unlike any other. The tale of Yugi Mutoh, and his lover the Pharaoh Atem.

A tale that will lighten your heart, and sadden it all at once.

Listen well, for I do not have an infinite amount of leisure time, and have other duties to perform…

Ya-_'Atem,'_ he reminded himself, sighed, walking into the church. All of his aibou's friends were here, as well as many others that neither of the Puzzle duo had really considered as friends, such as Malik and Pegasus.

"This just proves to you just how many people really were affected by Yugi-kun…" Ryou said softly from beside the former pharaoh, causing him to jump slightly.

Slowly he exhaled. "Hai, Ryou-kun. Hai." A lone tear trailed down Atem's cheek, noticed by all.

Ryou watched as the pharaoh formerly known as Yami sat down in the front row of pews. With him were Sugoroku Mutoh, his daughter (Yugi's mother), Katsuya Jonouchi, Hirato Honda, Anzu Mazaki…all of Yugi's close friends and family.

The former Ring hikari sat in the row behind them. Yeah, he and Yugi had been friends, but he was nowhere near as close to him as those in the rows in front of him.

The Ceremonial Duel…it all came back to that. Absently, Ryou reached for the Ring, forgetting again that it was gone, just like the rest of the Sennen Items.

Atem had won the Ceremonial Duel. Apparently, it was destined that one of the two had to go on to the afterlife…whoever lost.

When the duel was over, Yugi had run to his other half, only to have a blinding flash of light appear.

When the light had dissipated, Yugi's lifeless body was on the cold stone floor. No pulse, no breath…

No soul…

Malik Ishtar sat next to the final Ring bearer, a sad look in his eyes.

"He's taking it pretty hard…" the lavender eyed Egyptian mused, watching Atem from behind. The ex-yami had his head bowed, and Anzu was kneeling in front of him, trying to comfort him with tears on her face.

"Wouldn't you if you were in his shoes?" The two looked up to see Ryou's boyfriend, Seto Kaiba, with his younger brother Mokuba, coming over to sit with them. "I think he's taking it rather well, all things considered."

"He is, isn't he…" Ryou trailed off as the pastor got up to speak.

'_Aibou…'_ Atem sighed, ignoring the pastor as he mused on his own thoughts of his former hikari.

He remembered back to Christmas Eve last year…

"_Yami!"_

_Said spirit let out an 'oomph' as his hikari (and boyfriend of all of a month and a half) latched on to him. "Yes, aibou?"_

_Yugi looked up at him, grinning. "It's Christmas Eve!"_

"…_Christmas Eve? What is that?"_

_The light being merely shook his head and handed his darker half a brightly colored box. The former pharaoh held it in his hands, and looked down at Yugi with a raised eyebrow. "What do I do with this?"_

_Yugi giggled. "You unwrap it, silly! It's a gift!"_

_The spirit thought that this was rather odd, but did as his hikari said. The box opened to reveal a small Dark Magician statuette with a note tied to the end of his miniature staff. Yami untied the ribbon keeping the note on the staff, and read it. It read simply, "I love you, Yami. Always and forever."_

_The yami's eyes softened, and he reached over to hug his hikari, who was shaking like a leaf. "Thank you dearly, Yuig. I love you as well."_

_The beaming smile he received in return could have lit up all of Domino City._

The thoughts of everyone in the room mirrored Atem's to some extent, all of them remembering the little things that made the hikari a friend to them all, even former enemies such as Kaiba, Malik, and Pegasus.

They all vividly remembered…Halloween a year ago that day.

Halloween was Yugi's favorite holiday, always had been. Because of his height, when he went trick-or-treating, people would always think he was a little kid and give him more candy than the rest of his friends would get. That was the only time of year that he'd be truly happy about his height.

Besides, he could temporarily dye his hair, or wear a large wig, and no one would know that he was the 'King of Games.' It was a night of anonymity for him.

Every single person at his funeral, other than a few pesky reporters, had been at the Halloween party Kaiba had thrown a year ago.

That night was the night Atem and Yugi had finally told each other of their feelings for one another.

Every single person there had cheered for the two as the then called Yami claimed Yugi's lips for the first time.

They remembered Katsuya Jonouchi, dressed as a vampire, finally working up the nerve to ask Mai Kujaku, who was dressed as a princess, out on a date.

The cold-seeming Seto Kaiba, dressed as Lord of Dragon, talking to Ryou Bakura, dressed as the Change of Heart, trying to help the hikari keep the tears at bay as he feared his yami would show up and beat the living daylights out of him.

In fact, when said yami did show up, Seto kicked his ass, getting a few injuries himself along the way. Then, after he kicked Yami Bakura off of the property, he calmly took Ryou's hand, earning a small smile from the hikari along with a faint blush.

They remembered Anzu Mazaki, dressed as the Magician of Faith, dancing for them all, as she was preparing to audition for a big dance school in America. A friend of hers dressed as the Mystical Elf sang the music. They'd never learned her name, only that she'd known Anzu for years.

They remembered Malik and Isis Ishtar, both looking awkward and out of place without costumes of their own, being led into the room by Yugi Mutoh, dressed as a peasant from Egypt, who introduced them to everyone. No one was hostile towards the two tomb keepers that night.

Each of the people in the room had their own memories connected to Yugi, some good, some bad.

As they all left, they looked around the church, locking eyes with as many people as they could.

Deep in their hearts, they knew that today was the last day they would all see each other.

Atem Mutoh struggled to keep from screaming as he walked though the cemetery.

There, lined up in a row, were all of his friends.

Seto and Ryou Kaiba. Mokuba and Rebecca Kaiba. Yugi Mutoh. Sugoroku Mutoh. Katsuya and Mai Jonouchi. Hirato and Anzu Honda. Otogi and Shizuka Ryujii. Malik Ishtar. Isis Ishtar.

All of them.

Gone.

And now… he was alone. No one remembered Yugi anymore.

Not many remembered Anzu, and she'd become a world famous dancer.

The Kaiba quartet, as the two brothers and their significant others had come to be known, were remembered slightly better, perhaps because of Yugi Kaiba, Mokuba and Rebecca's only child, refused to let them be forgotten.

Katsuya and Mai had probably had the quietest life out of all of his friends. Mai designed clothing, but she'd stayed behind the scenes, and so the two led a quiet life in Domino City.

Otogi had gotten a worldwide chain of game stores and was right up there with Kaiba Corp. and Industrial Illusions in popularity and money.

Malik and Isis had devoted their lives to Egyptology, and were able to make many influential discoveries. However, they were always available to help a friend in need.

Atem shook his head, thinking about the day of the funeral, the last time they were all together. There'd been a gathering at Kaiba's mansion, because Anzu had thought it would be wrong not to have the party they'd planed just because Yugi was gone. She'd said that he would have wanted them to have the party either way.

It was very subdued.

Until Anzu began speaking.

That broke the ice. All of his friends shared stories of how the short duelist had changed their lives in some way.

Anzu told of how he helped her to believe in her dreams.

Katsuya talked about when Yugi had given him the money from Duelist Kingdom to save his sister's sight.

Shizuka explained how he was always there with a shoulder to cry on when she worried for her brother.

Seto simply said that the small hikari showed him that there really was a such thing as friendship.

Mokuba told of how Yugi'd helped to save him when a bully had been chasing the raven haired child.

Ryou, looking at the ground, told of how Yugi had defeated his yami (Bakura), freeing him from the control of the evil spirit.

Mai spoke of how he'd shown her that there was more to life than money and fame.

Isis, naturally, spoke of how he and the Pharaoh had given her her brother back.

Malik talked about the Halloween party the year before.

Otogi sighed and talked about how the hikari had shown him that everything wasn't always what it seemed.

Hirato looked around the room for a few moments, a small, sad smile on his face. Then he said, "This is what I have to thank Yugi for."

Katsuya stared at him, as did Atem. "What 'dya mean?"

The brunette shook his head, still smiling. "This. He brought us together. All of us. Think about it. The reason we're all here is Yugi. That's how we all met, pretty much. Other than Jonouchi-kun, I didn't know a single person in this room as a friend. As family."

Anzu nodded. "Right. We're a family."

"Yet, we only realized it when we lost one of our own…" Ryou trailed off.

Atem nodded, standing up from where he'd been sitting in a recliner. "Exactly." And he left the room, never looking back.

Shaking his head in the present, Atem left a rose on Yugi's grave.

"I'll always love and remember you…_all_ of you."

With that, he walked out of the cemetery, going to the Kame Game Shop, which had fallen to him when Yugi's grandfather died only a few scant years after Yugi himself.

Sighing, Atem sat at the desk that had been Yugi's room. Nothing in this room had changed. Nothing.

The former Pharaoh took out a pen and notebook full of paper, and began to write.

He wrote and wrote for days on end.

A few months later, he decided to go to a publisher, to see if the series of books he'd written were publishable.

Of course, no one knew the stories were real, that there really had been Sennen Items, ancient pharaohs, tomb robbers, monsters coming out of cards… No one knew that these people had really existed.

He had to go through two or three different publishers, but he got the desired results. A woman that worked in the Game Shop for him told him that he was lucky that it had only taken that many. He didn't know, didn't care.

The day the first book was put on the shelves, with promises that the others would be published later on, Atem went to Kaiba Corp. to see his 'nephew' Yugi Kaiba, and presented him with a copy of the book.

That was the last time anyone saw Atem Mutoh.

Exactly one week before Halloween.

The years went by, and Atem Mutoh's books became classic children's books, along with the Harry Potter books and books such as Alice and Wonderland and others of that ilk.

Yugi Kaiba had had children…however, in a freak accident, they'd all died not long after their parents, leaving the Kaiba Mansion, now one of the oldest buildings in Domino City, deserted.

Legends say, if you go to the Kaiba Mansion on Halloween, you'll see a party the likes of which you have never seen before. Ghosts dressed up as various things from long ago, some creatures from a long forgotten card game, some as various other things, all having fun.

And at the center of the group, who are all teens, would be a pair of near identical boys; both with spiky black, red, and blonde hair; both grinning. The shorter of the two, if he sees you, will invite you to join them.

Those that have gone there say that it was the best Halloween of their lives, though they never return. They say the felt as if they belonged…

Those that go there at any time of the year intending to commit suicide, find themselves stopped by a young boy, who merely smiles sadly at them, and invites them to stay the night. They wake up the next morning, somewhere safe, wondering why they'd ever thought of taking their life.

How is it, you may ask, that I know of this?

—_Gleaming crimson eyes, spiky tri-colored hair, translucent skin—_

…I'll leave that to your imagination.

—_Smirk_—


End file.
